Stripped by the Professor_The Office Hours Series Page 7

  I let her finish her orgasm and eased off my rapid pace somewhat, allowing us to both enjoy the slow build toward our mutual release. I was so focused on her beautiful intensity, her brightly burning eyes, her mouth, every part of her, that I didn’t hear the door open behind us.

  I should have locked that god damned door.

  “Well shit, would you take a look at this?” Troy’s voice blasted into our cloud of bliss. “What do we have here?”

  I could hear the smirk on his face in the weight of his tone. I stopped immediately, Britt pulled herself into my arms and pressed her face tightly against my chest, and I did my best to shield her from Troy’s view.

  “Can’t you see I’m busy?” I snapped and turned to look at him. “Fuck off for five minutes while I finish up with this first year.”

  “Five minutes?” He snickered, trying desperately to get a look at Britt’s face. “I’ll give you two, and I’m waiting right outside.” He turned and moved to leave, paused, and turned back. “Do I know her? She looks familiar.”

  “You’ve probably had a taste yourself.” I chuckled, my rage simmering just under the surface as I forced myself to act as casual as possible. I didn’t want Troy to smell blood. He was my friend, but if he could figure out a way to get something on me, I would be at his mercy.

  I knew it, and he knew it, which was why he was so reluctant to leave.

  “Probably.” He laughed and finally left. The moment the door clicked shut, I pulled out of Britt and cupped her face in my hands.

  “I’m sorry I said that,” I told her, but there was a fierce anger in her eyes that told me I’d gone too far. “Dammit, Britt, I was just trying to protect you.”

  “Protect me by acting like I’m some whore? Some slut who fucked your friend and is now in here fucking you like this? That’s not who I am, and I can’t believe you would even imply it,” she wailed and slipped off the desk, furiously tugging her skirt down and her shirt closed.

  “I don’t want anything to happen to you. I’m trying to protect your reputation,” I explained. “I promise, if there was any other way to handle this, I will find it.”

  “I don’t think you’ve tried that hard,” she said, her delicious mouth thrust out in an angry pout that simultaneously hurt me and turned me on. “I have to get to my next class anyway, so please get rid of your disgusting friend so I can sneak out of here.”

  “I swear, if there was any other way—”

  “How do you know there isn’t?” she demanded as I tucked my aching dick away and zipped up, smoothing down my shirt. “Have you seriously even looked into it? It’s been what, three hours? How much research could you have actually done?”

  I stopped short before denying it and went over her words in my head. She had a point. Had I really researched our college’s rules on professors sleeping with students, especially when they weren’t teaching them?

  I tried to kiss her goodbye, but she tilted her face away and I hugged her instead. It physically hurt me to leave her like that, but I had to usher Troy out of the hallway outside my office so Britt could leave with her dignity intact.

  But she had brought up an idea that burned in my head. How could I make this right so my candy girl never felt like a cast off ever again?

  Britt

  I had been such a fool. An idiot. God, what a trashy whore, begging Lock for sex in his office like a common slut. And he’d taken me up on the offer, of course, but what man would say no when I basically splayed myself out wantonly like that?

  But reality had crashed into me hard when his friend had burst in and Lock had basically called me a whore right to my face. If he was willing to say things like that when I was in his arms—when he was inside of me—what would he say when I wasn’t around?

  How had I allowed my guard to slip so easily?

  I almost texted Dusty and pleaded with them to let me dance again, but I couldn’t quite do it.

  Not yet, not when the humiliation of Lock’s dismissal was so hot in my ears.

  I needed to get home and figure out my life and future, find a way to pay off the remaining tuition I owed or drop out of school. I could even go back to being a waitress if that’s what it took, save my tips and try college again in a couple years.

  But I would never shame myself again, not like I had in Lock’s arms and on stage at the club.

  Still, the money had been so good. But was it worth my soul?

  I wasn’t in any mood to work through the complex problems that had suddenly risen up in my life, so I decided to ignore Lock’s texts and take the bus home. I needed to decompress and figure out what was happening, far from his incredible lips and even more incredible…you know.

  The way he kissed me, the way he felt inside.

  Even just letting that stray thought flutter through my head made my insides melt, my knees weaken, and my resolve begin to fade away.

  I mentally shook my head and gave myself a talking to. I headed right for the bus stop and climbed on the first one that came, sat in the back, and stubbornly rode it all the way to my apartment, refusing to look at my phone as it buzzed over and over with new texts.

  They’d all be from Lock, and I knew exactly how weak I would be if I read them.

  I got off the bus at the stop closest to my place, a couple blocks away, and hadn’t taken more than three steps when the clouds rumbled and the skies opened up, pouring rain down on me.

  “Just great,” I grumbled and cradled my backpack to my chest, trying to protect my books and laptop from the deluge. “Seriously though?”

  Could the day get any worse? By the time I reached the front of my building, I was soaked. My clothes clung to me, and I felt half naked and exposed.

  It wasn’t the best neighborhood, so my building was pretty tight on security. I fished around inside of my backpack for the front entrance keys. I couldn’t find my keys anywhere, not to the front door and not to my apartment, so I tried the door, hoping by some chance it might be open. But it was locked firmly when I rattled it. I drew in a huge breath, leaned back against the wall next to the door, a little out of the rain, and fought the stinging, hot tears that threatened to spill out of my eyes.

  “Today is the worst,” I moaned, my voice hitching in my throat.

  And it felt like it, after being humiliated by Lock dropping me off alone, and then his response to Troy finding me in his embrace. God, why did things have to be so difficult?

  I closed my eyes tightly to fend off the tears and felt them bubble up from my chest, promising to overflow and send me into full on sobbing at any moment. I finally felt overwhelmed, and they flowed down my cheeks, leaving hot trails along my skin.

  Strong arms wrapped around me, and instinctively, I melted into them then realized how wrong that was and snapped my eyelids open, looking up.

  “Lock,” I said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m here for you.” A grimace played along his thick, soft lips. “You don’t need to run from me, especially like this.”

  His eyes were deep and dark with concern, and I melted. Right then and there as I saw him in the flesh, all resolve disappeared like sugar dissolving in hot water, and I wanted him to make it all okay.

  “I hated leaving, but in your office…” I began to explain how I felt, but as soon as I did, it felt all so trivial and baseless.

  Seeing him here in front of me, I could tell that he did care for me. He loved me. And I loved him. I had to use my love and trust him, let go of my need for control and believe Lock when he told me he was doing his best for both of us. I had to let go and let him handle things that he knew, even if they didn’t feel that good while he worked it all out.

  “Don’t say any more.” He put his finger up to my lips to prevent me from going on in my distressed state. “I behaved horribly. I should have told Troy to get the fuck out instead of hiding who you were.”

  “I understand why you did it though. I was just so upset I wasn’t thinking cle
arly.” I melted into his arms, leaning on him for support.

  “Can we go upstairs?” He hooked his finger under my chin and tilted my face up to his. “I hate seeing you distressed like this. You’re freezing too.” He pulled his jacket off and draped it over my shoulders as I shivered. The rain was easing off, but I was still soaking wet and getting chilled.

  “I don’t have my keys,” I told him. “I think I must have lost them.”

  “No, wait.” He patted himself down and dug in his pocket as he reached it. “Here we are.”

  He held up my keys, and I smiled through my misery, the feelings of rejection and humiliation receding a little more every time Lock’s bright smile flashed in my direction.

  I took them and let us in, and by the time we got into my little space, I was ready to collapse out of exhaustion. Lock helped me out of my clothes and insisted I shower as he made me some tea.

  After I warmed up somewhat, he took me to my bed, stripped me naked, and reminded me of what love felt like.

  His touch drove away the last bolts of ice that had taken up in my veins, and I was on fire by the time I reached my second orgasm. By the time I was shaking with the countless explosions of pleasure he drove me to, I didn’t think I’d ever feel cold again.

  Lock

  Fuck Troy and fuck the university. After Britt had fled down the hallway, her embarrassment clinging to her like a cloud, I turned to Troy. Resentment rose in my chest as if I’d swallowed something that wouldn’t quite go all the way down and was stuck somewhere in between.

  “So who was that?” Troy smirked, trying to crane his neck and catch a glimpse of Britt.

  “None of your business. Now what do you want?”

  “It is my business if you’ve hit the slutty student jackpot. Share the wealth.” He snickered, waggling his eyebrows.

  And for the first time in my life, I felt like slamming my fist into my friend’s face.

  Not that he knew what I felt about her, but still, she made me feel so protective of her that I wanted to fight anyone who disrespected her, no matter who they were.

  I would fight the world for her. I would turn my back on my family, my friends…and until she ran down the hallway, I hadn’t realized it, but I would turn my back on my career for her. I would burn it all to the ground for Britt, as long as she was in my life.

  “She’s not up for grabs,” I growled and glowered at Troy. “So what the fuck do you want?”

  “I wanted to go for lunch,” Troy replied, taken aback at last. His arrogant smugness fading as he scanned my face for some clue to my bad mood. “Don’t worry about it though, maybe tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, maybe.” I watched him leave, glancing back to shoot me strange looks a couple time before he disappeared. I immediately grabbed my phone and texted Britt, begging her to come back to my office, letting her know the coast was clear.

  Of course I wanted to ask for her forgiveness and of course I wanted to see my love, but I did have ulterior motives.

  My cock throbbed for her pussy, and my balls ached for release.

  That might have explained a little of my current shitty mood, I supposed, but mostly I was angry at letting Troy and the rules of the college get to me, get into my head, upsetting Britt.

  “Come on, candy girl,” I texted her again when she didn’t respond to my first message. “I’ll come get you. Let’s go for a nice dinner.”

  She didn’t respond to that one either, and instead of looking like a crazy man obsessively texting her over and over, I decided to let her cool off a little before chasing after her.

  Besides, I did have a department meeting in less than an hour and wanted to pry a little to find out if there was some way I could be with Britt out in the open. I gave in and texted her one more time on my way into the staff room but didn’t expect a response. Even though Britt was brand new in my life, I could already tell she had a stubborn streak about a mile wide.

  And that was sexy as hell. I loved that she could stand up to me and call me out on my bullshit when I messed things up.

  Let’s face it, a guy like me who had been on his own for so long would probably mess things up a lot in the future. As long as Britt remained strong and stubborn, I wouldn’t get away with being a douche and winding up like Troy. She had the power to keep me on the right track and bring happiness to my life—as long as I let her and didn’t allow the judgment of others to influence the way I treated her.

  Sighing heavily, I slipped my phone into my pocket and sat in a chair at the conference table with my fellow language professors and department colleagues. I was wound up again and regretted how I’d behaved, vowing to make it up to her, come hell or high water.

  Dr. Phillips took his seat at the head of the table, and his personal assistant sat next to him, pen poised and ready to take notes. He insisted she handwrite minutes from each meeting instead of recording the process and transcribing it later. He was that stuck in the past.

  Which was why he wasn’t flexible when it came to the rules around dating students.

  I barely paid attention as he droned on about budgets, moving offices, and the staff party coming up, but when I heard my name mentioned, I paid attention.

  “And as you all know, Lachlan here has recently gotten tenure because of Mark’s…well, let’s say indiscretions.”

  The table applauded me and congratulated me on my new promotion, but all I could think about was Mark being forced out of his spot because he fell for the wrong girl and the college found out.

  “How is Mark, anyway?” I asked, looking around at his former friends who still worked here.

  “He’s good,” one of the other profs replied. “He and the grad student are getting married. Can you believe that? It turned out his marriage was on the rocks and he fell in love. Crazy, isn’t it?”

  “I thought he was just an old pervert.” Dr. Phillips chuckled. “Too bad he didn’t marry her before we found out.”

  “Why’s that?” I asked, perking up.

  “If she was his wife, he wouldn’t have been breaking the rules. As long as she didn’t take any classes from him, the college can’t deny the family member of a professor their education.”

  “In fact, it’s free,” Mark’s friend added. “The college defers family tuition. That’s the only way I can afford to send my kids here.”

  I zoned out again as they discussed the rest of the points for the meeting and practically knocked my chair over when it came to an end. I had to text Britt. She hadn’t replied while I’d been in there. I’d felt no telltale vibration letting me know she’d softened to me and forgiven me for my behavior.

  “Where are you, candy girl?” I asked but didn’t expect a response at that point. Her stubborn streak was proving to be incredibly resilient, and that simply made me want her more.

  I decided to leave early. My research wasn’t important enough to take precedence over my need to find Britt.

  First I searched through the campus, looked at the usual study areas and cafes. I couldn’t recall if she had a class in the afternoon, but I was certain she didn’t. Unsuccessful in my search, I decided to look at her apartment. I slid into my car, pulled on my seatbelt, and noticed something glinting from the passenger side.

  I leaned over, reached down, and picked up Britt’s keys. Alarm flooded through my body. She was locked out of her place, if that’s where she’d gone. I slammed my car into drive, maneuvered through the campus, and sped through the city streets, intent on my goal.

  It began to rain, huge sheets of water hit my car, and I frowned, thinking of my Britt out in the weather, cold and angry…and alone.

  I raced as fast as I could, zipping between the other vehicles on the streets until I reached Britt’s rundown neighborhood. I hated thinking of her here by herself, wondering how many creepy guys leered at my gorgeous girl as she walked along the sidewalk, innocent of all their attention. I slowed to a crawl, pulled up into a spot in front of Britt’s apartment building and saw
a figure huddled on the front steps.

  My gut felt heavy with nerves as I grabbed her keys, jumped out of my car, slammed the door and bounded up to her.

  She was so hunched over she didn’t realize I was there. And even worse, she was crying.

  I wrapped my arms around her. She jumped but went soft the moment she realized it was me, and just like that, everything wrong with the world disappeared and all was as it should be.

  It was remarkable—when she was with me, I didn’t care about anything else in the world. There was so much right about the two of us that nothing else mattered. It felt good, and I didn’t care what it took to make our love happen.

  She let me help her into her place, and I got her warmed up, made her tea, and got her wrapped in a blanket.

  It wasn’t long before I realized how I needed to heat her up though—the same way I needed to heat myself up.

  I took her teacup from her fingers, set it on the coffee table, and brushed a strand of still-damp hair off her forehead. I leaned close and kissed her there then trailed kisses along her face, her neck, and back up to her lips.

  Our tongues found each other, ready and hot, swirling and easing into that sensual holding pattern I loved so much.

  I’d kissed other women, of course, but I’d never reveled in the sensations of it like I did with Britt. With her, it felt like I was pulled into a whirlpool of slick lust that consumed my every cell with fiery need.

  I pulled back to undress her and myself. Wordlessly, she watched until I lifted her into my arms and carried her to the bed.

  “I’ll never treat you like that again,” I promised her and kissed the puckered peak of her nipple as she lay on her back.

  “I’ll never throw such a tantrum.” She smiled and cradled my head in her hands.

  “Throw as many as you need to keep me in line, candy girl,” I mumbled as my mouth filled with her breast, my hand kneading the other one until she moaned and arched up toward me.